Cliffs Natural Resources Reports 2015 Second Quarter Results

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) announced its second quarter results for the period ended June 30, which showed a 33 percent decrease in consolidated revenue, down $498 million from $748 million from Q2 2014.
As quoted in the press release:

Cost of goods sold decreased by 22 percent to $441 million compared to $564 million reported in the second quarter of 2014. For the second quarter of 2015, Cliffs recorded net income attributable to Cliffs’ common shareholders of $60 million, or $0.39 of earnings per diluted share, compared to a net loss attributable to Cliffs’ common shareholders of $2 million, or $0.02 per diluted share recorded in the second quarter of 2014.
Cliffs’ second-quarter 2015 SG&A expenses were $31 million, a 25 percent decrease when compared to the second-quarter 2014 expense of $41 million, as a result of reduced headcount and other continued cost saving initiatives.
Cliffs’ second-quarter 2015 interest expense was $64 million, a 51 percent increase when compared to a second-quarter 2014 expense of $42 million. The increase was primarily driven by the issuance of secured notes during the first quarter of 2015. The Company noted that of the $64 million recorded, $56 million is a cash expense and the remaining $8 million is non-cash.

Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cliffs, commented:

Over the past twelve months we have taken actions to protect the long-term viability of Cliffs. These include the elimination of a revolver with restrictive covenants, the removal of loss-making Eastern Canadian Iron Ore, the divestiture of several non-core assets, the significant reduction of SG&A and capital expenditures, and the optimization of costs in U.S. Iron Ore and Asia Pacific Iron Ore.” Mr. Goncalves added, “As actions are taken to combat the influence of unfairly-traded steel in the United States, we expect to see improved industry operating conditions and profitability in the second half of this year.

Click here to read the full Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) press release.